It’s almost here, people.
The 15th Annual Gigantic Nautical Flea Market will be held February 20-21 at Founder’s Park here in Islamorada. You’ll find great prices on all things nautical…boats, dive gear, fishing rods, lifevests, and anything else you can possibly imagine.
It’s put on every year by the Upper Keys Rotary, easily the smartest and best-looking Rotary club in the world. Last year we had 25,000 people come by, and we grossed about $150,000. All profits go exclusively towards scholarships for kids in the Upper Keys.
Good time, good cause. And did I mention the $5 all you can eat breakfast?
Here’s more info about the flea market. And if you come, stop by the food tent and say hello!
I admit it. I had a pretty good chuckle when I drove by this sign last week.
Photo by Kevin Wadlow at The Keynoter
For some reason, the sub-head of the story about it in the local paper struck me as even funnier. It reads like the voiceover for a really bad movie trailer, no?
Boat ’stolen’ a second time from Tavernier medical center.
This time, it’s just an image, not a vessel.Mariners Hospital’s benefit boat vanished again before dawn Saturday — one year to the day since a notorious 2009 theft.
But this time, the culprits had to settle for a life-size picture, not the actual vessel.
“The reaction here was amazement,” said Sheila Konczewski, Mariners spokeswoman. “When I got the call Saturday morning, I had to drive in to see it.”
A sign promoting a Mariners Hospital Foundation benefit drawing for a 14-foot Boston Whaler boat remains at the hospital’s entrance, at mile marker 91.5 in Tavernier.
A gaping hole flaps where the photo image of the boat used to be, before a vandal cut it out.
In January 2009, thieves made off with the actual boat, motor and trailer — a package worth $15,000 — from the same spot.
“After that boat was stolen, we decided not to chance again and put up a billboard instead,” Konczewski said.
Both the 2009 theft and the 2010 sign defacement were reported to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on the same day, Jan. 23.
If the sign vandalism was intended as an anniversary prank, authorities were not amused. The sign cost the Mariners foundation $935.
“They literally took the boat,” Konczewski said. “They cut it out very well and even left the trailer.”
Thankfully, the recent Bougainvillea Ball was a smashing success in spite of the above, and a lot of money was raised for all the right reasons.
The rest of the article from The Keynoter is here.
Some pics from Pat Ford on a trip into the Everglades National Park last Thursday. Shows you what record low temps will do down here. Shame. Have been hearing from some guides that the fish kills were widespread, but pictures bring that point home like nothing else. And keep in mind these were taken more than a week after the cold spell.
Tough to see, but here’s to hoping it keeps a little Teddy Roosevelt alive in all of us. Everglades National Park is a special place – and it’ll bounce back. Let’s hope our backcountry guides do, too.
View of Statue of Liberty from the NYC harbor today. http://yfrog.com/5c3q5j 1 day ago
